An Unremarkable Body

When Katharine is found dead at the foot of her stairs, it is the mystery of her life which consumes daughter, Laura.The medical examiner's report, in which precious parts of Katharine's body are weighed and categorized, motivates Laura to write her own version of events. To bear witness to the unbearable blank space between each itemized entry.What emerges is a picture of life lived in the shadows, as well as an attempt to discover how and why her mother died. To make sense of her own grief Laura must piece her mother's body back together and in doing so, she is forced to confront a woman silenced by her own mother and wronged by her husband. A woman who felt shackled by motherhood and unable to love freely.With the heart of a memoir and the pace of a thriller, An Unremarkable Body reveals the overwhelming desire of those who mourn to protest that an unremarkable body does not mean an unremarkable life.

Product Information

Reviews

AN UNREMARKABLE BODY is clever, evocative and sensitively written. There's so much to love about this book. These characters will creep into your thoughts -- Polly Courtney, author of FERAL YOUTH Lodato's skill is that of Katharine's pathologist; precise, delicate and thorough. A tender dissection of brutal truths -- Dexter Petley, author of WHITE LIES An incredibly moving story of maternal love, sacrifice, and how little we know about those closest to us. This beautifully-written novel had me gripped until the last page -- Chloe Mayer, author of THE BOY MADE OF SNOW An elegant, haunting book with a flawed narrator, troubled relationships, and a mystery at the heart . . . Lodato's writing is spare, confident and affecting. A compelling read -- Joanna Barnard, author of PRECOCIOUS and HUSH LITTLE BABY An Unremarkable Body is a well-crafted story of grief and loss. Beautiful, sensitive, and poignant -- Clarissa Goenawan, author of RAINBIRDS

Author description

Elise Lodato grew up in London and read English at Pembroke College, Cambridge. After graduating she went to live in Japan where she developed a love of cherry blossom and tempura. On returning to the UK she spent many happy years working for Google before training to become an English teacher. Helping pupils to search for meaning in a text inspired Elisa to take up the pen and write her own. Her first novel, An Unremarkable Body, was longlisted for the Bath Novel Award 2016. Elisa lives in Surrey with her husband and two children.